The 10 Best Forgotten Realms MTG Historic Cards

Magic: the Gathering‘s newest set, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, is right around the corner! The set releases on Magic Arena on Thursday this week, and with preview season over, it’s time to breakdown what the best cards for Historic are from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.

The 10 Best Forgotten Realms MTG Historic Cards

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The honorable mention for this list goes to Delina, Wild Magic, Pixie Guide Pixie Guide Flying
Grant an Advantage — If you would roll one or more dice, instead roll that many dice plus one and ignore the lowest roll. , and Barbarian Class Barbarian Class (Gain the next level as a sorcery to add its ability.)
If you would roll one or more dice, instead roll that many dice plus one and ignore the lowest roll.
{1}{R}: Level 2
Whenever you roll one or more dice, target creature you control gets +2/+0 and gains menace until end of turn.
{2}{R}: Level 3
Creatures you control have haste. . These cards create a new combo in the game similar to Splinter Twin Splinter Twin Enchant creature
Enchanted creature has "{T}: Create a token that's a copy of this creature, except it has haste. Exile that token at the beginning of the next end step." and Pestermite Pestermite Flash
Flying
When this creature enters, you may tap or untap target permanent. . While this combo is possible in the standard format, Historic’s card pool gives us the tools to effectively set up and protect this combo. That being said, this is a brand new deck, so we’ll have to see how the deck is constructed.

10. Circle of Dreams Druid

Wizards of the Coast

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Circle of Dreams druid is one of Wizards of the Coast‘s attempt to bring Gaea’s Cradle Gaea’s Cradle {T}: Add {G} for each creature you control. into the modern era of Magic. This card fits right into Historic Elves as a way to generate a ton of mana to pump into Finale of Devastation Finale of Devastation Search your library and/or graveyard for a creature card with mana value X or less and put it onto the battlefield. If you search your library this way, shuffle. If X is 10 or more, creatures you control get +X/+X and gain haste until end of turn. . The trick that’s going to be keeping it alive or giving it haste. Luckily, this creature is 3 mana, so we can get it in play with Collected Company Collected Company Look at the top six cards of your library. Put up to two creature cards with mana value 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. . Definitely look to give elves a shot when this drops.

9. Hobgoblin Bandit Lord

Wizards of the Coast

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Goblins might be making a comeback in Historic with this addition. Hobgoblin Bandit Lord is another… well, Lord. On top of that, this gives Goblins another way to win the game, if we hit Goblin Chieftain Goblin Chieftain Haste (This creature can attack and {T} as soon as it comes under your control.)
Other Goblin creatures you control get +1/+1 and have haste. or Goblin Warchief Goblin Warchief Goblin spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Goblins you control have haste. and Krenko Mob Boss Krenko Mob Boss {T}: Create X 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens, where X is the number of Goblins you control. . The list is rather tight though, so we’ll have to see what gets cut to make room for this card.

8. Portable Hole

Wizards of the Coast

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Portable Hole is a great card because it’s a really cheap piece of removal that exiles. There really isn’t a specific deck that this would be great in, which is a benefit. It’s well positioned against a lot of key creatures in the format like Llanowar Elves Llanowar Elves {T}: Add {G}. , Cauldron Familiar Cauldron Familiar When this creature enters, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Sacrifice a Food: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. , or Adanto Vanguard Adanto Vanguard As long as this creature is attacking, it gets +2/+0.
Pay 4 life: This creature gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it.) .

7. Chaos Channeler

Wizards of the Coast

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Chaos Channeler might be the new top end creature for Mono Red. The abilities of the creature helps red with card advantage, allowing us to look at cards from the top of our library and the ability to play them. This card fills a similar roll that Experimental Frenzy Experimental Frenzy You may look at the top card of your library any time.
You may play lands and cast spells from the top of your library.
You can't play lands or cast spells from your hand.
{3}{R}: Destroy this enchantment. in Mono Red decks of old.

6. Guardian of Faith

Wizards of the Coast

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Guardians of Faith hits number 6 on the list because of it’s very powerful ability set. Phasing is a mechanic that Wizards has been printing more and more on cards, and we have a card in the game already that has this in Teferi’s Protection Teferi’s Protection Until your next turn, your life total can't change and you gain protection from everything. All permanents you control phase out. (While they're phased out, they're treated as though they don't exist. They phase in before you untap during your untap step.)
Exile Teferi's Protection. . Phasing creatures out in the right circumstances can be really strong, and having the ability to do this at instant speed is incredibly powerful. I expect that this card will find a home in Selesnya Collected Company decks.

5. Acererak the Archlich

Wizards of the Coast

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Acererak the Archlich is a really interesting card. A strong body for a great rate, but requires completing a specific dungeon to stay in play. The reason this comes in where it does is because this is part of another instant win combo deck. When paired with a mana cost reducing card, particularly Omniscience Omniscience You may cast spells from your hand without paying their mana costs. in Historic, we can infinitely play Acererak from our hand. This allows us to rapidly complete Lost Mine of Phandelver Lost Mine of Phandelver Cave Entrance — Scry 1. (Leads to: Goblin Lair, Mine Tunnels)
Goblin Lair — Create a 1/1 red Goblin creature token. (Leads to: Storeroom, Dark Pool)
Mine Tunnels — Create a Treasure token. (Leads to: Dark Pool, Fungi Cavern)
Storeroom — Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. (Leads to: Temple of Dumathoin)
Dark Pool — Each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life. (Leads to: Temple of Dumathoin)
Fungi Cavern — Target creature gets -4/-0 until your next turn. (Leads to: Temple of Dumathoin)
Temple of Dumathoin — Draw a card. , and drain our opponent out of the game through the Dark Pool room. Where this may fit in would be in an Emergent Ultimatum Emergent Ultimatum Search your library for up to three monocolored cards with different names and exile them. An opponent chooses one of those cards. Shuffle that card into your library. You may cast the other cards without paying their mana costs. Exile Emergent Ultimatum. deck. We’ll have to see if that list is consistent enough to work.

4. Power-Word Kill

Wizards of the Coast

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Power-Word Kill is the new 2 mana kill spell in black. While this does have a lot of competition for the 2 drop removal slot, against a lot of decks, this is an unconditional kill spell. The only dragon that we’re really seeing in Historic at the moment is Sprite Dragon Sprite Dragon Flying, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. . Definitely look out for this one, and expect to find this in all matter of decks.

3. Sphere of Annihilation

Wizards of the Coast

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Sphere of Annihilation is a really powerful artifact and mass removal spell. This card harkens back to Pernicious Deed Pernicious Deed {X}, Sacrifice this enchantment: Destroy each artifact, creature, and enchantment with mana value X or less. , but has some trade offs. You can’t stop this from happening, as it’s going to happen in your next upkeep. On the other hand, this hits creatures and planeswalkers on the field and in the graveyard. This doesn’t even need to be cast for a lot of mana. Casting this for X=2 can hit a host of creatures like Cauldron Familiar Cauldron Familiar When this creature enters, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
Sacrifice a Food: Return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. and Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger When Kroxa enters, sacrifice it unless it escaped.
Whenever Kroxa enters or attacks, each opponent discards a card, then each opponent who didn't discard a nonland card this way loses 3 life.
Escape—{B}{B}{R}{R}, Exile five other cards from your graveyard. (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its escape cost.) while still keeping your 3 mana planeswalkers alive. I expect that this will find its way into some Esper Control decks, or even in Doom Foretold Doom Foretold At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player sacrifices a nonland, nontoken permanent of their choice. If that player can't, they discard a card, they lose 2 life, you draw a card, you gain 2 life, you create a 2/2 white Knight creature token with vigilance, then you sacrifice this enchantment. decks.

2. Forsworn Paladin / Ebondeath, Dracolich

afr-104-forsworn-paladin — Ebondeath Dracolich

Ebondeath-Dracolich-AFR-100 — Ebondeath Dracolich

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The next two cards are Forsworn Paladin and Ebondeath, Dracolich. These two come in together as they fit in the same deck, Mono Black Aggro. Forsworn Paladin is often times an unblocked threat in the early game, and has some versatile abilities to give deathtouch to our creatures, and make treasures if we’re a little land light. Ebondeath is a surprise threat that can come in at instant speed and set up to fly in for a lot of damage when we untap with it on our turn. The condition of a creature dying isn’t really that difficult to achieve. Expect to see both of these hit the ladder and be very strong going foward.

1. Demilich

Wizards of the Coast

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Demilich comes in at the number 1 spot for this list. On it’s face, it seems like it’s a pretty hard card to cast and play with, but the current top deck in the format, Izzet Phoenix, will love to have this card. It’s a recursive threat that we can cast from our graveyard. We’re also already casting a bunch of spells already to trigger our Archlight Phoenix, so we can often cast this card at a heavy discount. Not to mention we do get the ability to flash back one of our spells to draw more cards, help clear the way of blockers, or pump up our Sprite Dragon Sprite Dragon Flying, haste
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. or Stormwing Entity Stormwing Entity This spell costs {2}{U} less to cast if you've cast an instant or sorcery spell this turn.
Flying
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)
When this creature enters, scry 2. .

That’s our list! These cards are all awesome and there’s so many cool cards in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms that it was hard to choose ones for this list. What are some of the cards you’re most excited for in Historic? Let us know in the comments.

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is set to release on July 23rd on tabletop, and 2 weeks before on Magic Online and Magic Arena. You can find all the new spoilers in our Spoiler Gallery. You can also preorder Adventures in the Forgotten Realms products now!

Tagged Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Historic, magic: the gathering, MTG, MTG Arena

The 10 Best Forgotten Realms MTG Historic Cards